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Daily news - 24th December 2024

Dear Readers, today is the last DrugWise Daily until the new year. Harry and Jackie would like to wish you all a Happy Holiday. See you again on January 2nd 2025!

UK news

Be on guard for counterfeit and illicit alcohol at home and abroad

Experts from a renowned international brewing and distilling centre are warning people to watch out for counterfeit and illicit alcohol – spirits – whether they’re travelling abroad over the festive season or celebrating at home | Heriot Watt University, UK

Addiction help on hand over Christmas

A community group which helps people recovering from addictions says help is on hand over the festive holidays which can be a challenging time | BBC, UK

The Nottinghamshire pubs combating loneliness and encouraging the art of conversation

Christmas can be a lonely time and venues have pledged to open for people spending the day on their own | Nottingham Post, UK

Ethanol for the management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: a systematic review

[Open access] How about administering reducing doses of alcohol to patients to ease withdrawal from the same substance? Ten studies can provide a tentative answer, but findings are mainly either neutral or positive compared to other methods | Clinical Toxicology, UK

Nearly 4,000 offenders wearing alcohol tags to stop them drinking over Christmas

Offenders who commit alcohol-driven crimes can be ordered to wear a tag which takes a sample of their sweat every 30 minutes and alerts the probation service if alcohol is detected | Mirror, UK

Court hears Digga D supplied cannabis to entourage

A leading UK drill star supplied up to 60kg (132lbs) of cannabis on a "commercial" level including socially to his entourage in the music industry, a court has heard | BBC, UK

Two jailed for role in £42m cocaine smuggling plot

More than half a tonne (524kg) of cocaine with a street value of more than £42m was landed by boat in Easington on the East Yorkshire coast in May | BBC, UK

International news

Lisdexamfetamine in the treatment of methamphetamine dependence: A randomised, placebo-controlled trial

[Open access] Effective pharmacotherapies for stimulant dependence have proved elusive. One strategy is to substitute less harmful stimulants, trialled in this Australian study among methamphetamine users. At first it worked, but by the end of treatment and four weeks later no statistically significant benefits remained | Addiction, UK

Drug lord back in Colombia after 20 years in US jail

One of the founders of the Medellin drug cartel has returned to Colombia after serving more than 20 years in jail in the US for drug trafficking | BBC, UK

The Whole Hog End of Year Special: Drugs – The pilot Medically Supervised Injecting Facility is "not going to solve the capital’s public injecting and overdose problem on its own"

After nine years of NIMBY-ism and civil servants and politicians failing to get their fingers out, the pilot Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF) that was okayed by government in 2015 finally opened on Merchants Quay in December | Hotpress, Ireland

[Open access] The first amalgamation of findings on the impact of substance use medications among psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder concludes that by modestly attenuating problem substance use, they also slightly alleviate symptoms of mental illness | Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Spain

Nearly 60% Of Germans Support Full Cannabis Legalization Ahead Of Upcoming Elections

Most Germans are in favor of fully legalizing recreational cannabis months after the government approved its use for personal consumption and amid the upcoming federal elections | Forbes, USA

Early adoption of tobacco 21 policies can avert premature mortality, study suggests

Early adoption and implementation of Tobacco 21 (T21) policies, with a minimum legal access age for tobacco products of 21 years, is associated with potential premature mortality reductions, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in JAMA Health Forum | Medical Xpress, USA

A fentanyl antidote is saving lives. But it isn’t ending the fentanyl crisis

The U.S. death toll from illicit fentanyl is falling as communities douse the streets with naloxone, a potent overdose-reversal drug. But behind the good news, deadly opioids remain rife – and users report harrowing effects from the antidote | Reuters, USA

[Open access] A synthesis of findings on the effectiveness of medications use to treat problem drinking ended up highlighting the power of the placebo and by extension the mere fact of entering treatment | Pharmacological Research, USA

Identification and Health Risks of an Emerging Means of Drug Use in Correctional Facilities

What are the clinical manifestations, management, and outcomes associated with exposure to drug-soaked paper strips among incarcerated individuals, and which substances are present in these strips? In this case series of 18 male patients with strip intoxication, clinical manifestations included central nervous system depression (94%) and bradycardia (61%). Strips primarily contained synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, nitazene opioids, and other novel psychoactive substances | JAMA Network Open, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

1977: Year of the Mushroom Cult

A further note on Liberty Caps in 1970s Britain | Psychedelic Press, UK

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